Vacation
by the charmed citlali
Summary: The Scoobies plan a vacation in the woods, what could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter One

This is set between "Older and Far Away" and "As You Were". I just had an idea. Hope you like it.

Summary: Let's see. The Scoobies decide to take a little vacation. The nerd herd follows. What could go wrong, really? 

Rating: Something in the middle of PG and PG-13, you decide

Distribution: Just ask me

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Not making any money off it. Just like to borrow. 

  


Vacation

  


Chapter One

  


"I think a vacation would be great," Willow said as she stood at the kitchen counter chopping celery stalks for a salad. 

"I dunno, Will," Buffy said, doubting.

"C'mon," Willow put the knife. "Especially with what happened with Dawn at your birthday. We could all go away for a little bit. Spend time together." Buffy sighed. "I know I could use one. Anything to keep me away from all this temptation with the spells and the casting..."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Fine." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. Dawn's already missed too much school."

"I'm missing school?" Dawn asked coming into the kitchen and stealing a stick of celery.

"I'll call Dawn's school in the morning," Willow offered.

"Thank you," Buffy said.

Dawn raised her eyebrows, "Someone wanna inform the student why she's missing school?"

"Hey, hey!" Xander and Anya let themselves in the front door. "We're here!"

"And we've brought wine!" Anya added as her and Xander came into the kitchen. 

"Thanks," Willow said taking the bottle from Anya.

"Why wine?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, well. It's a custom I've recently come across. Whenever you are invited to a dinner party, you bring a bottle of wine that compliments the food that's being served," Anya explained.

"Good thing we're having spaghetti," Willow said. 

"Wine and spaghetti? Gross," Dawn commented. 

"Compared to what?" Buffy asked. "Gatorade and oatmeal cookies with mustard?"

Anya and Willow grimaced and Dawn gave her sister a Look. "Anyway, why am I missing school?"

"Ooh, new demon at the school? Kids disappearing? Giant snake?" Xander asked a little too enthused.

Buffy shook her head, "Nothing like that. We've decided to take a vacation. Haven't decided where yet, but Willow thought it'd be a good idea."

"Ooh, what about camping? We could go camping. I've been watching that show on how to survive in the wilderness," Everyone just looked at Anya. "What? It's on before 'A Wedding Story'."

No offense, Ahn, but I'm not really woods-y, camp-y girl here," Buffy said.

"Buffy's idea of roughing it is a trip to the beach without sunscreen," Dawn giggled. 

"Hey!" Buffy protested. "That's not true. I'm just not real keen on the idea of going to the bathroom in the woods." 

Dawn wrinkled her nose. "Eww..." 

"And I don't even know how to set up a tent," Buffy continued.

"What about renting one of the cabins near Yosemite State Park?" Willow suggested.

"That'd be great," Buffy said appreciative of her friend's quick thinking. "Cabin-ing sounds a lot safer than camping."

"So what? We'll get everything packed and leave Thursday?" Xander asked.

"Sounds good to me," Buffy shrugged.

"Can I invite Tara?" Dawn asked.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed as the gang looked at each other. "Well, it's uh..." Buffy looked at Willow. "Up to Willow.

Dawn looked at Willow expectantly. "Uh... sure," the recovering wicca attempted a forced smile. "It'd be... good for her to come."

Dawn broke into a huge grin and ran to the phone to call Tara. "Like that's not gonna be awkward," Xander muttered.

"It won't," Willow said. "It's important to Dawn. And Tara loves her very much. This trip is for Dawn anyway."

"Great!" Anya said. "Let's eat."

  


After dinner, Buffy stood at the sink while the gang was in the living room talking excitedly about the vacation. She dried off a plate and smiled. She couldn't help but catch their excitement. Willow was right, this would be good for Dawn, and herself. A little getaway with her friends. Take her mind off all the evil nasties. Almost.

"Knock, Knock, love," Spike said letting himself in. 

"Go away, Spike," she said, not looking at him. _If I don't look at him, I won't want him. Who am I kidding? I wanted him when I was eating dinner. The whole time I was thinking that the spaghetti noodles looked like his hair._

"C'mon now," he said as he slid his arms around her waist. She squirmed, but he didn't budge. He kissed her on the neck and ran his lips to the back of his ear. She leaned back into him, letting his hands wander up her shirt, caressing the smooth skin above her jeans.

"Stop Spike," she whispered. But he didn't and she didn't stop him

"You know," he purred into her ear. "We never did get to finish what we started the other day."

Buffy turned around, kissing him on the lips. Their tongues wrestled against each other. They soon were lost in heated passion and somehow ended on top of the counter. "No," Buffy said pulling away from him. "Willow. Xander. In the other. Room," She managed to say between kissing him.

"Uh huh," he said quickly as he pulled her back into kissing him. Their lips smacked together. She writhed on top of him and a moan escaped from him.

"Buffy?" Dawn called. 

Buffy looked up at the sound of her sister's voice. She fell off Spike and on to the floor. "Ow!" She exclaimed.

"Buffy?" Dawn came into the kitchen to see her sister on the floor and Spike sitting up on the counter. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Uh..." Buffy searched for an excuse. "I... dropped a cup." 

"A cup?" Dawn asked, not quite believing her. 

"Yeah, didn't you hear it? Big noise, it broke and I was making sure there were no pieces on the floor," she said digging herself deeper. She got up from the floor. Spike tried to hide a smirk but she shot a Look at him anyway.

"Right," Dawn said. She knew what had been going on. She wasn't stupid. She saw Spike's swollen bottom lip and Buffy's guilty eyes. She'd known about them for a while now. She didn't want to say anything, she thought it was kind of romantic. A light went off in Dawn's head. "Hey, can Spike come too?" She asked.

"What? No!" Buffy said.

"Oh, come on, Buffy. Please," Dawn put on her best puppy dog face. "Please."

"No," Buffy said as she smoothed her tousled hair. "Spike can't come. He... He has better things to do."

"Actually I do," he said looking pointedly at Buffy. "But nothing I can't put on hold." Spike said amused by Buffy's nervousness. "Where are we going?" 

"We're renting a cabin near Yosemite," Dawn told him. 

"A cabin, eh? Doesn't sound too bad. A little fresh air might do me some good. Well, if I could breathe it." He said.

Dawn giggled, "So you'll come?"

He looked at Buffy, "Up to big sis," he said already knowing Buffy's answer. 

Buffy glared at him, then smiled at Dawn. "Spike can come."

Dawn grinned. "This is gonna be so fun."

  


Three days later, they all piled into Xander's rental van. It was around eleven and the sun was high in the sky. Spike hurtled himself into the van 

"Hey what's chip boy doing here?" Xander asked.

"Dawn invited me, whelp," Spike said as he settled in the back of the van covering himself with a blanket. 

Xander glowered at Spike, but kept his mouth shut. Anya sympathetically patted his knee.

"Tara sit here," Dawn said scooting over so that she was nearest the window. Tara smiled at Dawn. Willow looked helplessly around, but she really didn't want to sit in the back with Spike, so she climbed in next to Tara.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" Buffy asked.

"Plenty of room back here," Spike said.

"Ugh, I'd rather sit on top of the car," she said more for her friends ears than her own.

"Fine by me, pet," Spike said stretching out under his blanket.

She glared at him and reluctantly, but secretly glad, sitting next to him. "Move over," she told him.

"Make me," he shot back.

"Do I have to turn this car around before we even hit the road?" Xander asked looking in the rearview mirror. "Or maybe I can just throw Spike out." 

"Hey, watch it, wanker," he snarled. 

"Settle down," Buffy whispered to him reaching under his blanket. Spike's face softened and he just glared at Xander instead. Xander turned the ignition and they were off. No one had noticed the black van behind them. 

  



	2. Chapter Two

  


Chapter Two

  


Seven hours straight in a car will drive people insane. No matter how tight knit a group is. Xander took I-5 most of the way there. Stopping once to unload bladders and stock-up on even more junk food. The insanity began when Anya started going over a list of possible wedding songs. She popped a mixed tape into the cassette player and the gang had to endure an entire hour of the sappiest love songs. Willow finally got so fed up that she threw Dawn's book at the radio. 

"Hey!" Dawn and Anya exclaimed. 

"Sorry," Willow mumbled. "But there's only so much 'I honestly love you's' I can take."

Tara hid a smile and Dawn retrieved her book. Xander ejected the tape, tossing it to Willow who threw it out the window. "Xander!" Anya shouted. "What'd you do that for?"

"For your sake, sweetie. And out sanity," He replied. She crossed her arms and pouted.

At the rest stop, a lizard scared Tara when it popped out of the sink. Spike whined about not being able to go outside for a smoke, which irritated Buffy, who called him "Marlboro Breath" and told him if he ever wanted to touch her again he'd think twice about lighting up a cigarette. This sparked him to take out his pack and lighter, lighting a cigarette in the car just to spite her. She grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth and the lighter out of his hand and ran. Spike made to go after her but was deterred by the sunlight. Dawn dumped all the suitcases out, spilling the clothes on the ground while searching for the cheese puffs she had packed. Anya and Willow argued about the mixed tape and Xander hid. And they still had four hours to go.

On the road again, everyone seemed to mellow. Anya let everyone else decide on a radio station. Dawn fell asleep after finishing the bag of junk food she finally found under her seat. Tara and Willow talked quietly. Buffy toyed with Spike's lighter. He teased her from under his blanket. 

"There's enough room under this blanket for both of us, love," he said.

"Get bent Spike," She told him.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She rolled her eyes at him. He smirked. "C'mon love. A little under the blanket action. Make this car ride real interesting,"

She smiled even though she didn't mean to, "Shut up, Spike." When no one was looking she ducked under the blanket with him.

By the time they finally got there it was almost six. The sun hadn't yet set and the view was awesome. 

"Wow," Dawn breathed. "This is beautiful."

The cabin was a two-story, hideaway bungalow. Stairs ran up from the walkway to the top story porch. There was a huge deck that looked out onto a lake. Sunlight filtered through the Dogwood, cedar, and pine trees that surrounded it as the sun set behind the cabin. Everyone looked at it with smiles. 

"Uh, not to interrupt the moment, but you all are gonna need a dustpan soon," Spike said.

"Oh, right!" Buffy ran up the stairs to the front door with Spike on her heels. They grabbed their suitcases and walked inside. 

"It smells good, like pine sol," Willow said making Tara giggle.

"Yeah, the lady I talked to said it was all made from log and pine," Xander said.

They toured the large cabin. It had all the conveniences of home. There was a fireplace, a refrigerator, a microwave, toaster, a dishwasher, a Mr. Coffee, some really pretty dishes, cookware, Cable TV and a VCR, and a washer and dryer. There wasn't a telephone, but there a small town about thirty miles away.

"Hey, there's a grill," Xander said. "We can catch fish from the lake and grill 'em."

"This place is great, Willow. Good idea," Buffy hugged the redhead. 

"Thanks," Willow smiled. "There's only three bedrooms. Three of us will have to share a room."

"Or someone could sleep in the living room," Tara said.

"Well, obviously Xander and I get our own room. This is like our pre-honeymoon. We get to have lots of sex," Anya said.

"Anya!" Xander exclaimed. 

Buffy raised her eyebrows and Dawn giggled. "That's fine," Buffy said.

"I want to share with Willow and Tara," Dawn said. 

"Well, uh Dawnie..." Willow said "Th-There's two big b-beds in one of the r-rooms," Tara stuttered. "We can alternate." Willow gave her a small smile.

"Guess that means you and I'll be shacking up, eh pet?" Spike said slipping his arm around her shoulders. 

She ducked out from under him. "No way!" She said, helplessly looking at Dawn, Willow and Tara. 

"I'm not sharing a room with Spike," Dawn said. "No offense, Spike." 

"None taken, bit," he said.

"Then you can sleep on the couch," Buffy said.

"Can't. The drapes aren't thick enough to block Mr. Sunshine's harmful rays," he replied clearly amused by Buffy's reluctance to room with him.

"It won't be that bad, Buff," Xander said. "It's not like he has a chance."

_Yeah, right_, Buffy thought. "Fine," she threw her bag at Spike. "But you're sleeping on the floor." 

  


"You made sure there was no phone?" Warren asked Andrew. They watched the gang go into the cabin. 

"Yep. No phones. And I hooked up the camera in the smoke detector and refrigerator," Andrew said.

"An you slashed their tires?" He asked Jonathan.

"Yeah," Jonathan said. He slashed all four tires, except the spare and left a fix-a-flat in the toolbox. Warren didn't know. 

"Perfect," Warren said peering through his binoculars. "This is gonna be one wild vacation for the slayer."

  



	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

  


"You think that was wise?" Tara asked Dawn as the younger girl unzipped her suitcase.

"What?"

"Putting Spike and Buffy in the same room," she said.

Dawn looked at Tara, "Why? Do you think something will happen?" She asked innocently.

Tara shook her head, "No. They might end up killing each other," She smiled.

Dawn shrugged, "Or end up falling in love," she said talking a bag of Skittles out of her bag and placing them in the top drawer of the bureau along with her underwear. 

"Dawn..." 

"What?" Dawn smiled. "I was joking." 

Tara looked at her and nodded. 

"This bathroom is huge!" Willow said coming out of it. "There's like a jacuzzi size tub and a shower, two sinks and a little room for the toilet. I think I could live in there."

Dawn and Tara laughed. Dawn rubbed her tummy. "Oh, I'm hungry."

"Hungry?" Willow asked. "You ate a whole bag of chips and an apple."

"And three red vines," Dawn added. "But all that sitting made me hungry." 

"I'll go see what we have downstairs. The lady said she bought us groceries," Willow said.

"I'll help you," Tara said

"Xander and Anya are probably hungry too," Dawn said. "And I bet Buffy is too."

"Maybe we shouldn't have let Buffy and Spike room together," Xander said. 

"Huh?" Anya was in the bathroom that was connected to their room. "What'd you say?"

"Buffy. Spike. Rooming together. Not a good idea," he told her.

Anya shrugged, "Don't worry about them." She smiled coyly. 

"I dunno, Ahn," he said completely oblivious to her come-on. He sat on the bed. She sat in his lap. "Maybe we could..." She stopped his talking with a kiss. "Or we could do that," he said.

"C'mon Xander. It's our pre-honeymoon. I don't want to talk about Buffy and Spike. There's nothing between them. Except sexual tension," Anya said.

"Sexual tension. You mean, like tension but it's sexual. The kind of tension that builds up until you have sex, tension?" Xander asked.

Anya nodded. "Yeah. It must be that slayer-vampire thing. And the fact that Spike's has that sexy, bad boy thing."

"You think Spike's sexy?!" 

"What? No," Anya shook her head. "He's just got that thing, you know?"

"No," Xander said. "I don't know."

Anya laughed. "Oh, Xander." She kissed him. "Don't worry, Buffy's a level headed girl. Kind of. She wouldn't do anything like that."

  


"So," Spike said flopping onto the bed. He put his hands behind his head. "What do you fancy, pet?"

"Get off," Buffy told him.

"That's your job," he said.

She threw him a Look. "Uh uh," she said. "Nothing is going to happen while we're here."

He blinked at her all innocent-like, "What do you mean, love?"

"I'm serious, Spike. Dawn, Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara are down the hall," she said.

"Uh huh," he kept looking at her. God, she was gorgeous. Every line, every curve of her body was perfect. Her big green eyes, her strawberry lips, her slightly pointed nose. Her hair was short now. But he didn't mind. It was cute and it fit her. She was everything he was supposed to hate as a vampire, but he didn't. She was good and pure, but she did things that no angel had ever done. He had tried convincing her that she was dark and belonged with him there, but he knew full well she wasn't. 

"What?"

She snapped him out of his daydream. "What?"

"You were staring at me," she said.

"Made you all hot and bothered?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes, "More like grossly uncomfortable." She put her things away in a dresser. "Didn't you bring anything?" 

"I put them in your bag," he replied. She checked her bag. Sure enough, there was a couple pair of black jeans, tight black shirts, a red silk button-up shirt and a black one. She tossed them out of her bag on onto the bed. "Hey!"

"That's what you get for stuffing your clothes in my bag," she told him.

"You know, maybe I will go sleep in the living room," he said.

"Fine by me," she pushed the clothes off the bed and sat down. He glared at her and pushed her down, sitting on top of her. She giggled.

"What are you laughing at? You made a fine mess of clothes," he said. It only made her laugh harder. "Stop it." He said. She didn't. He pursed his lips and reached down and tickled her stomach. 

"No! Spike, don't!" She shrieked. "Stop!" She dissolved into giggles.

"Stop laughing," he told her. 

"I can't!" She laughed. He kept tickling her. "Spike!" she tried pushing him off, but she was powerless. Finally, he stopped. She was still laughing softly, kind of like an aftershock.

"What would happen if all the vampires knew they could kill you by tickling you on the stomach?" He asked. He moved her hair away form her face. He bent down and kissed her stomach without lifting her shirt. 

"Heh heh," she chuckled. He looked up and smiled at her. She ran her hand over his cheek. "You're smiling," she said.

"So are you," he said.

"You never smile though. You're always smirk-y with the corner of your mouth going up," she touched his lips, "And raising your eyebrow," she traced his scarred eyebrow. 

"Buffy..."

Before he could kiss her, before she let herself kiss him, she pushed him over and off her. She got up. "You're sleeping on the floor," she said, straightening her clothes and fixing her hair in the mirror. She went downstairs to the kitchen where Dawn, Tara, Willow, Xander and Anya were sitting and discussing dinner ideas.

"How about hamburgers?" Xander asked. "It wouldn't take long to make them. We can eat them out on the deck."

"You really want to work that grill," Willow said.

Xander shrugged, "It looks like fun. I can wear a little apron that says 'Kiss the Cook'."

Anya kissed him, "I do that anyway." He smiled at her.

"Hey Buffy," Tara greeted the blond slayer warmly. 

"Hi. We're having hamburgers?" She asked.

"I don't want hamburgers. Let's get pizza," Dawn said.

"You always want pizza," Buffy pointed out. "Let's eat something different."

Dawn sighed but nodded. "Where's Spike?" 

"Up in the room," Buffy replied.

"What were you guys doing in there? I heard you laughing," Dawn said. 

"Uh... we were... telling jokes," She said lamely. "They were funny."

Xander frowned. "Spike? Telling jokes?" 

"He can be funny. Sometimes," she said looking down.

Tara stood up, coming to Buffy's rescue, "Let's start dinner. Xander you can grill."

Xander broke into a smile, "Yes!" He pumped his fist. "Okay, I lost cool points there."

The gang went to work getting dinner ready. Tara, Anya and Willow prepared in the kitchen. Spike came downstairs, Buffy noticed he changed into the blue button-down shirt. It made his gray-blue eyes appear bluer. He saw the girls in the kitchen, then opted to help Xander up on the deck in getting the grill started. But help from Spike meant criticizing what Xander was doing. Buffy and Dawn set the table outside. 

"You're doing it wrong," Spike said.

"Do you want to do it?" Xander asked. " 'Cause I don't think you should get too close to the flame, vamp-face."

Spike glared. "Probably do it a lot faster than you, wanker," he muttered. Xander finally got the BBQ started and Spike threw the patties on. 

"Oh wow," Willow said coming out on the deck with a bowl of chips. "The sky is so clear out here."

"Must be because we're away from all the city lights," Dawn said. "Janice told me that the stars never really go away, but because the Sun is closer to us, we can't see them during the day." 

"Dru used to see the stars during the day, and inside," Spike said.

"That's because she was a taco short of a combination plate," Xander told him. Spike glared at him.

"I think it's beautiful," Buffy said. They all sat down and ate. Spike sat between Buffy and Red. He really didn't want to eat a hamburger, but compromised with it being rare and washing it down with a mug of blood. He liked the chips though. During dinner, he and Buffy rubbed each other's legs under the table until she got a little too close and he yelped, shaking the table. 

"I thought I felt a bug," was his lame excuse. Xander shook his head and Tara hid a smile behind her glass. 

Later, after they put the dishes away and cleaned up they sat out on the deck. Xander and Anya shared one of those long chairs, Dawn sprawled out on the bench, forcing Tara and Willow to sit on the swing together. Spike sat in the other long chair and Buffy sat at the end. He resisted the urge to pull her up into him. 

She looked up at the stars. They twinkled down at her, shining with all the energy in the universe. Suddenly, she felt very small, she wrapped her arms around herself. Spike leaned over and draped his button down shirt around her. 

"Thanks," she said quietly. Only Tara noticed this little action and didn't say anything.

Dawn started nodding off and decided to go to bed. Anya and Xander said their good-nights and Willow went with Dawn. Tara gave Buffy a smile and nodded at Spike, retiring to the bedroom with Dawn and Willow. Buffy started to go. She handed Spike back his shirt. He took it, looking longingly into her eyes. She let go first, and went inside. He followed her.

"Buffy!" 

She sighed deeply. "Not tonight Spike. I'm tired."

"Did I say anything about that?" He asked.

She turned around, "I know you were."

"I wasn't!" He said defiantly. "I was going to tell you good night."

"What?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'll sleep downstairs."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't have to."

Spike sighed. Here he was, trying to do the decent, gentlemanly thing and she was questioning it. "No, you need your beauty rest and all that."

"I need beauty rest?"

He gave her a Look. "Just go."

She wrung her wrists, like she did when she was trying to say something, but was too embarrassed to say anything. "No. If you sleep there, they're gonna think something's up."

"Right."

She turned around and headed to the bedroom. Ironic that it was the farthest away from everyone else's. 

  


"Is that Spike and the slayer?" Warren asked watching the tv monitor in their van.

"I can't tell," Andrew said squinting. "The reception's all fuzzy."

"And who's fault is that?"

"It's all the trees," the blond one said. "They make the signal harder to read."

"Maybe, we can try sneaking in there and changing the cameras?" Jonathan suggested. 

"No way. The house'll never be empty. During the day, Spike can't go out, so he'll be there and at night, they're all there," Warren said.

"I wish we still had the invisibility gun," Andrew said. "It'd make this a whole lot easier.

"We'll just have to deal with this crappy reception then," Jonathan said. 

"Unless..." A evil grin spread across Warren's face as the two other boys looked at each other worriedly.

  



	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

  


Spike watched the gang from under the safety of the covered porch. They were splashing in the lake, having a grand ol' time. Anya and Tara sunned themselves on the deck that lead out to the water in their bikinis. Tara had a sarong modesty tied around her waist. Dawn was waist deep in her cute, little green swimsuit, clinging onto Xander's back. They swam by Willow and Buffy splashing them, igniting a war. The four of them laughed and splashed while Anya and Tara looked on smiling.

Suddenly, he wished he was out there with them. Swimming and playing. He closed his eyes and imagined the warmth of the sun on his skin, a memory he had all but forgotten. He had never thought of not being a vampire. Until her, of course. And in that moment, watching her rise out from the water onto the deck with the other girls, patting herself dry and laying out on her towel, he wished he was human. He imagined laying out there next to her, applying sun lotion to her already sun kissed skin. He wished he was the one Dawn clung to, and was the one who could sit and talk and sun himself with his friends.

Angrily, he went inside. He slammed his fist down on the kitchen counter. _Get a bloody grip on yourself, Spike. You're a creature of the darkness. An evil, despicable demon. You don't want to be human. You revel in causing pain and mayhem. You scourged half of Europe with Angelus. You eat humans, you don't wanna be one._ He shook his head. But he did, if only for a moment, to be able to kiss her under the sun, and not under the moon. 

"Hey Spike," Buffy said coming into the kitchen. 

He looked up at her, " 'Lo." 

"What's up with you, bad moody?"

"Nothin'."

She shrugged and opened the fridge, getting herself a glass of water. He cocked his head. Her short hair was wet, she had a towel wrapped around her middle, and she wore the sassiest looking black bikini. She drank her water and saw him through the bottom of the glass. "What?"

He bit his bottom lip and smirked. "Nothin'."

"What?" She asked. "Is there something on my face?" He moved towards her, like a jungle cat. A mean, black, incredibly sexy jungle cat. He took the glass from her hand and set it on the counter. "Spike..." she warningly. He held the hand she had the glass in and laced his fingers through hers. He took her other hand and did the same then brought their hands over her head and very, very slowly leaned in to kiss her.

A noise from upstairs startled the two and they broke away. "What was that?" Buffy asked.

"Squirrel?" Spike shrugged.

They cautiously went up the stairs. A thump came from their room. "It's in the room," Buffy whispered.

"Quick! Andrew summon something," Warren told him. The two watched as slayer and vampire approached the bedroom where Jonathan was.

Buffy pushed open the door and saw a furry animal on her bed. "Oh, it is a squirrel." She said. Just then the 'squirrel' jumped up and revealed it to be a snarling, foaming-at-the-mouth, demon-squirrel with red eyes. It flew at Buffy, it's claws slashing at her skin. The knocked it down and Spike grabbed it throwing it out the window where it poofed before it hit the ground. 

"You all right?" He asked her. She nodded examining the slashes above her breast. 

"It didn't rip my bathing suit, thank God," she muttered. 

"Here," he made her sit on the bed. "I'll get you some stuff to clean it up." He disappeared and returned from the bathroom in Dawn, Willow and Tara's bedroom with gauze and peroxide. 

"You don't have to do that," she told him as he poured some of the liquid onto a piece of cotton.

"Sit still," he said and he pressed the cotton on her cuts. 

"Ouch," she whined. "That stings."

He rolled his eyes, "Quit being such a sissy, slayer," he said to her. She glared at him, but let him continue. He gingerly mopped up the remaining blood and threw the cotton in the trash. He placed a large piece of gauze over the three scratches and taped the edges. She smiled at how careful he was being and how intently his eyes were watching her while he tended to her. "There," he said smoothing his hand over her new bandage. "Good as new."

Buffy leaned over and lightly kissed his lips. "Thank you." They went back downstairs where the gang was all waiting for them in the kitchen. 

"Buffy what took so long?" Willow asked, noticing that Spike and her just came from her bedroom.

"What happened to you?" Dawn asked pointing at her bandage.

"Oh, a demon-squirrel thing was in our... my bedroom. It took a swipe at me with these nasty, sharp claws," Buffy explained.

"Man," Xander shook his head. 'We haven't even been gone a day and already the demons are attacking."

"It's okay," Buffy assured him. "Spike threw it out the window. I doubt he survived to tell his friends."

"Well, is everyone hungry?" Tara asked. "We could make sandwiches. Besides, it's getting cloudy. I think it's gonna rain."

Dawn stuck out her bottom lip, pouting, "How can it rain on a beautiful day like this?" 

"Well, I'm gonna hit the hay," Spike said faking a yawn. "You know, nocturnal?" He turned to leave and gave Buffy a little look, before going upstairs. "Yeah, I'm gonna change," Buffy said trailing after Spike. 

Buffy shut the door to the bedroom once Spike and her were inside. She pounced on him before he could do anything. He fell back onto the bed with her straddling him. She kissed him hard and stroked his tongue. Spike let her take the reigns, 'cause obviously she had a plan. "Mmm, tell me you love me," she said.

"I love you Buffy. You know that," he said. She pulled his shirt up over his head and ran her hand down his chest. He fumbled for the tie in the back of her bikini top, almost getting it undone when Dawn called for Buffy.

They both groaned and stood up. "Turn around," she ordered him. 

"What?"

"Turn around. I'm gonna change."

He stared at her. "You're bloody impossible..." he muttered turning around. She undid her top and stepped out of her bottoms. Spike smirked. He could see her in the mirror on the wall. She pulled her head through a small white t-shirt and put on a clean pair of undies. 

"Spike!" She yelled. "I know you can see me in the mirror. Close your eyes!" 

He did so and chuckled. "Then why'd you keep changing?"

She tied the tops of her yoga pants and smacked him on the back of the head. "Good night, Spike," she said sweetly. He heard her close the door and descend the stairs. He laid back on the bed. He looked over at the window. She had closed the curtains before she left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  


"Did you see that?" Andrew squealed.

"Yeah, the slayer and Spike getting it on," Warren said. The back door of the van opened and a bruised and dirty Jonathan climbed in. "Good work." 

"Yeah," Jonathan grumbled. "What was that thing you summoned?" He asked Andrew.

Oh, an Ar'dil'la demon," Andrew said. "It's a ferocious little thing that self-destructs before it's about to die." 

"Neat," Jonathan said wiping the demon's entrails off his face. "Did you see anything?"

"Yeah, perfect reception. Plus we caught the slayer and Spike in the act," Warren said.

"They were about to have sex then we saw Buffy change!" Andrew said excitedly.

"You saw Buffy naked?" Jonathan asked wide-eyed.

Andrew shook his head. "No, Spike's head was in the way, but I caught a glimpse of shoulder." He giggled.

"Gentlemen," Warren said rubbing his hand together. "Phase A is complete. "Now, we sit back and watch until the time comes for B."

"When is that?" Jonathan asked.

"Uh... I dunno. But when the time comes, we'll know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Tired, Buffy yawned and went into her room. They had all eaten a late lunch, watched a movie and when it started raining, the sound of it pitter-pattering on the roof lulled them all to sleep. It had been a good day, she decided. Now, it was time for a good night of much needed sleep. She kicked off her shoes and socks and looked at her bed. Spike was sleeping there. He had taken off his boots and jacket, he didn't have his shirt on either. She allowed herself a smile while she watched him. He didn't breathe, but his eyelids fluttered so she knew he was dreaming. She crawled under the sheets, trying not to disturb him.

Spike knew she was there. He hadn't been asleep. In fact, he had just woken up moments earlier, like he knew she was coming. He half-expected her to make him move onto the floor, but she didn't. She just simply crawled under the covers next to him. That's all that separated them, were a few sheets. She had her back to him, and he wanted to reach over and wrap his arm around her, but he didn't. He just traced the outline of her silhouette with his eyes, until she turned over and faced him. 

He closed his eyes quickly, but Buffy had seen him. "Spike?" She whispered.

He tried to pretend he was asleep, but he knew he was caught. "Want me to get on the floor?"He asked not opening his eyes. 

"No. You can stay here."

He opened his eyes, "But what if someone comes in?"

She shrugged. "We'll make up some pathetic lie or I'll just push you off." "Right then," he said lying flat on his back and closing his eyes again. She looked at him, remembering what Dawn had said earlier.

  


"Did you see Spike?" Dawn asked her mouth half full of turkey sandwich.

"Close your mouth, Dawn," Buffy told her. 

"Yeah," Xander said his mouth full of food too. "It's impolite," he winked at her.

Dawn giggled and swallowed. "Did you see Spike earlier?" She asked a little more clearly. 

"Why would I see Spike?" Buffy asked avoiding her eyes.

"No, under the porch. He looked kinda sad," she said stuffing a handful of chips in her mouth and crunching them.

"Sad?" Tara asked. "How so?"

"Like... I dunno, sad. Or maybe wistful. Like he wanted to join us or something," Dawn said.

"Aw, poor Spikey sad 'cause he can't play," Xander mocked.

"That's sad, Dawn. When did you notice that?" Willow asked.

"When I looked up and waved at him. He had this strange look on his face, like a sick kid who can't go outside 'cause he's sick. He didn't wave back," she said disappointedly.

"Well, it had to be hard for him," Anya commented taking a sip of her iced tea. "To be cooped up indoors while he watches other people have fun."

"He's a vampire. His idea of fun is killing people," Xander said.

"Still it must be lonely for him," Tara said. "Not being able to be with people that he wants to be with." She met Buffy's eyes. 

"Maybe we could stay inside with him tomorrow? Make him feel better," Dawn suggested.

"It looks like we might have to anyway," Willow said looking outside. "There's a big storm coming."

"Couldn't we just... not?" Xander asked.

"C'mon Xander, he did help us out when Buffy... was uh... gone," Dawn said.

"Fine," Xander mumbled. "Since we probably will be staying inside, might as well look like we're doing a good deed."

  


Buffy didn't say anything during the whole conversation. She just picked at her sandwich on her plate. She didn't notice Spike. Well, she knew he was there, but she figured he was staring at her. She didn't realize that he actually might've wanted to be out there with them. She poked him in the side. "Are you awake?"

"What do you want?" He murmured.

She thought for a moment. If he did want to be out there, he wasn't going to say anything about it. He wouldn't, that wasn't how he was. "Nothing," she said.

He opened his eyes to look at her. "Not nothing. You wouldn't have jabbed me in the ribs for nothing."

She sighed. No, she wasn't going to say anything about it. Instead, she took his arm and put it around her, settling her head on his hard, cold chest. He raised his eyebrows but invited the action. He stroked her cheek with his other hand and they soon fell asleep.

  



	5. Chapter Five

  


Chapter Five 

  


They spent the next day inside. It was raining and the wind blew the trees from side to side. 

"Ew," Dawn said looking out the window. "It's gross out there." 

"I like it," Spike said. 

"Of course you do, the clouds cover the sun," Buffy told him.

"Well, yeah," he said smirking.

The gang played board games and watched movies. They played LIFE and Monopoly, both of which Anya won. Buffy and Dawn sat on the floor, their backs to the couch, and Willow and Tara sat across from them, with Anya and Xander on either side. 

Buffy reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "I should've brought that massager you gave me Willow," she said.

Spike sat behind her on the couch and started rubbing her achy neck, "Nothin' better than the real thing though, pet." 

She leaned back, it felt good. She closed her eyes, the hard but tender pressure as he kneaded his fingers around her shoulders and down her spine. His touch was cold but warm as he massaged her back. Buffy opened her eyes, catching a glimpse of Xander's scowling face and Willow's raised eyebrows. She shrugged Spike off and got up to sit in a chair. She didn't look back at Spike, who scoffed and sat back on the couch. Dawn broke the tension by saying it was movie time.

Spike and Xander both objected to anything chick-flick-y and Disney. Spike complained that all the color in the Disney movies made his head hurt and he'd rather just hit someone and deal with that pain. Unfortunately, the only movies in the house, were chick-flicks. They settled on "Practical Magic", since it was kind of dark and Xander thought Nicole Kidman was hot stuff. Dawn settled her head on Spike's shoulder while Buffy watched, curled on her chair. When Sandra and Nicole's characters started doing magic, Willow made a funny noise and nervously started playing with her hands. Tara reached over and patted her hands. 

"That's not what you guys did to me, was it?" Buffy asked when the witches on the TV tried to bring an ex-boyfriend back from the dead. 

A round of uneasy glances were traded while Dawn and Spike looked on with raised eyebrows. They had failed to notice Buffy's joking tone.

"Uh, no," Xander said finally. "There were snakes involved."

"Snakes?"

"Never mind."

They all went back to watching the movie. At the end, when Sandra and the detective shared a passionate kiss. Anya and Xander snuggled against each other and Spike threw Buffy a Look. Dawn popped the movie out of the VCR and sighed. "That was a good movie."

"Yeah, not half bad," Spike agreed, stretching out. He looked outside. "Rain still hasn't let up, but I need a smoke." He got up, tousled Dawn's hair and went outside on the deck.

"Another movie?" Dawn asked.

"Let's watch the one about the man who's daughter is getting married," Anya said happily and Dawn popped that one into the VCR.

Buffy rose from her chair. "Where are you going?" Dawn asked.

"Outside. I think I need some fresh air," She said smiling at her sister. Buffy opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the deck. She breathed in the air. It smelled good. It was only sprinkling now and the clouds moved, letting a starry sky peak out. She looked across the wet deck, and out at the lake. She walked towards the edge and leaned on the railing. 

"It's beautiful," Spike said emerging from the shadows.

She sighed. "What is?"

"You." He said it low.

Buffy shook her head. "Shut up Spike."

He stood next to her, leaning on the rail. "What? Are you telling me you're not?" He rubbed her shoulder with his finger and ran it up her arm and around her neck, brushing aside her short hair. 

"Stop it," she shivered. 

"Make me."

She almost let him. _Keep going!_ Her mind screamed. _They can't see you. Just let him in._ "No, quit." She shrugged him off.

He scoffed. "What is it with you? Huh? Earlier, you couldn't get enough. And now, nothing."

"I just don't feel like it right now."

"When will you feel like it? Everything's on your schedule. When Buffy wants to go patrol. When Buffy wants to have a go in the sack. When Buffy wants a little touch. Buffy! Buffy! Buffy!" He kicked a chair with with boot. 

"You done, Jan Brady?" She asked him.

"I'm serious, Buffy. It's always been your way or no way. Well, not anymore," he crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his bottom lip out sullenly. 

A smile played at the corners of her mouth. She tried to hide it, but when she looked at his pouty, child-like expression, she couldn't help but grin. "Are you saying that you're cutting me off?"

He nodded, "Yep. No more Spike, the soddin' sex slave. I will not give into you anymore, Buffy. I've had it. I told you, if I can't have all of you, then I don't want any of you. So, if you want any, you'll have to go find yourself a new doggie."

"Spike," she tried turning him to face her, but he wouldn't. He just spun back around with his head in the air. "Spike!" She exclaimed. "Come on, look at me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is that what our wedding's going to be like?" Xander asked as he watched a harried Steve Martin run around trying to get his daughter's wedding in order.

"I'm sure it'll be less... hectic," Willow assured him.

"Oh yeah, 'cause Anya's demons and my family aren't the least bit nuts," Xander sarcastically replied.

"Hey!" Anya protested. "They're not nuts. Just different. Not like yours..." she grumbled.

"I know my family's... insane," he said for lack of a better word. "At least they won't eat each other."

"You're right. They'd rather just drink till they pass out," she shot back.

"Hey, guys," Dawn spoke up. "We're watching a happy movie."

"How happy are we going to be Xander? Our kids are going to suffer from alcoholism, thanks to you!" Anya asked.

"At least they have support groups for that. Unlike what you'll contribute to them. A vengeful spirit and a scary face," he retorted.

"Uh!" She got up and huffed to the kitchen. 

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To get some chips!" She yelled.

He ran after her, "Wait, you'll eat them all."

Willow, Dawn and Tara just looked at each other.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  


"Look at me."

"No."

"Why?"

He looked down at her, "I want to hear you say it."

"Say what?" She asked, eyes wide. _Oh God, he's not going to ask me how I feel about him, is he? What am I gonna say? I don't love him. God no, I don't love him. He's Spike. He's evil, soulless, Spike. He's a neutered vamp who's in love with me. Oh God, he is going to ask!_

__He sighed. "That you're sorry."

"What?"

"That you're sorry. Contrary to what you say, love, I do have feelings. So say it," he said.

She was very confused, but smiled at him, "I'm sorry," she said, though she didn't know what she was sorry about.

He eyed her. "Right then." He took out another cigarette and stuck it in his mouth.

"Ew," she grabbed it out of his mouth. "I told you to stop."

"And I don't care," he said, grabbing it out of her hand. She grabbed it and dug her hands in the pocket of his leather duster. "Hey!" She nabbed his pack of Marlboros and took off running. She raced down the stairs and he caught up to her with his vampire speed. Her only escape was the deck that led out to the lake. She ran out and threw the cigarettes into the dark water.

"That was my only pack!" He exclaimed. She shrugged. 

"Don't you dare, Spike," she warned him as he smirked at her, realizing that she was trapped. He took off his duster. "Spike, no," she told him as he crept forward. She took a step back, there was only about a foot and a half of deck left and he kept moving towards her. "Spike, I swear to God I'll..."

"You'll what?" he asked. "Stake me good and proper?" He shook his head, "I don't think so, slayer. I've got you cornered and if your li'l Scooby friends hear you scream, they'll wonder why you're out here with me."

"Spike, please..." she said. 

"Fine, then," he shrugged and backed off. She let her guard down.

"Thank you." Then he charged at her, but she was quicker. She ducked down as he sailed overhead into the lake. 

"Ow!" He cried, jumping up, holding his head in pain. 

She smiled smugly, "That's what you get, dummy." He just rubbed the side and she laughed. When she looked back at him, he was gone. "Spike?" She searched the water. The moon reflected off the water a eerie, white glow, but the water itself was black. "This isn't funny," she said. "Come up, now." Nothing. "I'm not coming in after you. If you drowned, that's just too damn bad." Suddenly, she saw a body with bleach blonde hair float up, face down. "Spike!" She shouted, but he didn't move. "Damnit Spike." She shed off her sweat jacket and dove in, she swam over to him. She turned his body over, his eyes were closed. She shook him. "Spike!"

His eyes flashed open and his lips curled into his smirk. "Thought you lost me there, did you? love?"

"Augh!" She pushed him away and he laughed. "You idiot! I thought you drowned!" 

"Vampire, pet. Can't drown if I don't breathe," he said.

Duh! She felt stupid. "I... forgot," she said. 

He frowned at her, but shook it off. "Well," he leaned back. "It's a nice enough night. What say we shed these clothes and have ourselves a little fun?"

"Are you crazy? You nearly gave me a heart attack and now you expect... ah!" She yelped going under. 

"Buffy!" He swam frantically to where she had been. "Buffy!" He splashed the water around, like he could see her through the water. He dove under. She wasn't there. "Buffy!" He hollered. Where was she? He was beginning to panic. What the hell was he thinking? Coming out here in the middle of the night, playing little games with her... And after that demon squirrel attack, he should've been more cautious. "Buffy!" He yelled for her one more time. 

"Jeez, what are you shouting about?"

He looked up to see Buffy, swinging her legs over the edge of the deck, wet, and smiling at him. "Stupid bint," he cursed under his breath. "What the bloody hell was that about?"

She smiled sweetly, "Oh well."

"Oh well? Oh well? Bloody show you 'oh well'," he reached up and caught her leg, pulling her into the water with him again. He kissed her on the mouth, not hard, but more sensual. Pouring into her everything he had experienced in that last minute. He thought he had lost her, again. 

Buffy kissed him back, savoring his kiss. She thought, just for a moment, she had lost him. Weirdest sensation, too. She was terrified when she saw his body float up. And she had forgotten that he didn't need to breathe. All she thought was, _Oh no! Why are you taking him away from me too. Haven't I lost enough? _It was selfish, she knew, but the thought of Spike not being there for her anymore, frightened her more than dying, again. She then realized just how much he had grown on her. How much he was there for her and in a moment, it could all be taken away. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn closed the vertical blinds. She was shy to look up at the blond couple making out in the lake. She made sure the sliding glass door was unlocked and took the stairs two at a time up to her room where Tara and Willow were waiting. She was so excited she wanted to burst. Buffy and Spike. Together. It was forbidden love at it's finest moment. She shook her head, she had been reading too many sappy, romance novels. Still, she couldn't help but be overjoyed. She slept soundly that night, dreaming of a white wedding, a blushing bride in a gorgeous dress, the groom all dressed up looking nervous but confident, family and friends sitting in rows waiting for the ceremony to commence, and the cutest little cake topper, of a blond man with fangs and a blond woman with a wooden stake holding hands. 

  


  


( This will be the last chapter for a while. I wanted to leave it on a lighter note. I'm going out of town for a week, but I'll try to write in pen then transfer it. I always revise it anyway. What new plan could the Nerd Herd be devising? Will Buffy give in to her emotions? Is Dawn going to tell the Scoobies about the slayer and the vampire? Willow and Tara, together again? Will Xander and Anya reveal their wedding worries to each other? Are the every going to find out that their tires are slashed? Tune in next week for (swell of violins) Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: The Vacation.) (Okay, lame I know. But I'm in a good mood, so sue me.) 

  



	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

  


(I'm back. Contain your excitement, please. ;). After a week at the Happiest Place on Earth, you kind of wanna stab yourself in the eye with a plastic fork. I actually didn't get to write much. But I had ideas. So, shall the story continue?)

  


Buffy woke up early the next morning and it was still cloudy. She looked over at the clock. She had only been asleep for two hours, she reached over to feel for Spike, but was rudely greeted by nothing. She sat up and looked around for him. "Spike!" She whispered hoarsely, she didn't want to seem too worried, plus she didn't want any of her friends or Dawn to wake up. 

"What?" he mumbled.

She looked over the side of the bed on saw him asleep on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," he replied.

"I meant on the floor."

"Sleeping," he replied again and yawned. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked up at her. "What's up, love? Time for a little early morning action, is it?"

She rolled her eyes at him and he smirked. "Shut up," but she smiled anyway. He lied flat on his back and closed his eyes. "What? Are you too tired for a smart-ass remark?"

A small smile crept across his face. "I was up late last night." Buffy reddened. Their romp in the lake ended with them skinny-dipping and a very satisfying shag in the lake. They had crept inside after they were sure everyone was asleep. Buffy had to admit, as much as she hated hiding and lying to her friends, she kind liked having something all to herself, even if it was Spike. Sometimes, she thought about telling them all. Tara already knew and she was fine with it. Of course, Tara was a sweetheart and more understanding than Xander and Willow. She was pretty sure Anya wouldn't care much either and Dawn would probably be ecstatic. _Maybe I will tell them._ She thought smiling. _It's not like they approved of Angel wholly either. _ Then again, Angel had a soul. Spike did have the chip, and he fought along side them and took care of Dawn while she was gone. 

"What are you smiling about, love?" Spike asked.

"What?" Buffy shook herself out of her thoughts. 

Spike shook his head, "Nothing." He looked up at the window. "Still raining. Guess you'll all have to stay inside again. Damn."

"Oh, admit it," Buffy said playfully. "You liked having us all inside to keep you company."

"No I didn't," he protested. "But I liked it better than watching you all frolic around outside," he said lowly. 

She frowned. Dawn was right, he was melancholy the other day. "I'll stay inside with you anyway," she told him.

"You will?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." 

They lied there for another hour or so, before Buffy got up to take a shower. Spike heard her walk into Dawn's room and soon he heard the water running. He got up to his feet and looked out the window at the dreary, cloud covered sky. He breathed in, it smelled like wet dirt and Pine-Sol, like Red had commented earlier. He furrowed his brows. Something was off.

"Hey," Buffy said coming back into the room with damp hair and new clothes. "How's it look outside?" 

"Shh," he said. "Someone's here."

Buffy walked over to the window. "Who?"

"Not sure," he glanced at her and smirked.

"What?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her shirt. It read, 'Sexy Bitch'. "Been saying that for years, love." 

She glared at him. "Shut up. I'm going downstairs. You... get dressed." She closed the door. 

Spike threw on a black shirt and his black pants that were draped over the footboard. Dawn's shrill scream sent Spike running out of the room and he burst into the living room where Buffy, Xander and Anya were fighting off what looked like a moose. But like the demon squirrel before, It had glowing read eyes. Moose were big animals anyway, but this one seemed massive, almost reaching the twelve foot high vaulted ceiling. "Buffy!" He yelled as the demon moose charged at her. He pushed her out of the way and the demon moose barreled into him, sending Spike flying upwards. He landed on the ground next to Dawn and Tara with a sickening thud. Buffy jumped on its back but it bucked her off and she crashed into Xander. 

Buffy scrambled to her feet before the moose started it's attack on Anya and Willow. Suddenly a barrier went up in front of the witch and ex-demon. Buffy took a step back, surprised, and looked at Willow who looked just as shocked. Buffy looked over at Tara. She was holding her hand up, chanting a spell. Dawn was kneeling next to Spike. Buffy wasted no time and grabbed the fireplace poker and jabbed it into the demon moose. It roared and turned away from the two cowering girls and knocked Buffy down. Xander threw her a sword and right before it had a chance to continue it's assault, she lopped it's head off. 

"Okay. Is it just me or do all the woodland creatures seem to be really pissed off?" Xander asked no one in particular. 

"Xander's right. What's going on?" Anya said.

Buffy looked down at the carcass of the beast. "I dunno." She spun around, "Spike." She rushed to his side, where Dawn was looking over him. 

"He's all right," Dawn assured her. "It might just be a concussion."

Buffy caressed Spike's cheek, "Spike?"

The bleach-blond vampire's eyelids fluttered open. "Chase is a foot!" He exclaimed sitting up. He looked around the room at confused faces. He swallowed, "Right." He tried standing up, but his leg was folded under him in an unnatural way. He cried out in pain. 

"Don't move," Buffy ordered him. She attempted to straighten out his leg, hearing the bones grind together and Spike's painful groans. The leg was most definitely broken.

"Your leg is broken." She said receiving a look of duh from him. She looked at the group, "We have to get him to a hospital."

"I don't think so. They'll put me in another one of those bloody wheeled contraptions," Spike said. "I can live with the pain."

"Yeah, you look it," Anya said.

"Pain or no pain, Spike. You have to get a doctor to set the leg or else your bones could fuse together wrong," Dawn told him. "I was watching on the Discovery Channel once..."

"Okay! Okay!" Spike said stopping her from continuing her story. Last summer when he had taken care of her, he had been subjected to medical shows amongst other things. And although he was once the scourge of Europe, he found he couldn't completely stomach these programs where surgeries of various things looked a lot like the torture he used to inflict. 

"Besides," Xander said. "The van's been tampered with. Someone slashed the tires."

"Slashed the tires? Who would do that?" Willow asked.

"Got me. And we're at least 30 miles from the nearest town," Xander pointed out.

"Guys, the phones have been cut too," Tara spoke up.

"What are we going to do?" Anya asked. 

"I'll go get help," Buffy said. "I'm the only one who can make it without tiring much. And I'll take Spike."

"And how do you propose you do that?" Spike asked, still on the floor. 

"I don't know. I'll carry you if I have to."

"You most certainly will not. I have my dignity, not much of it is left, but I still have some. You're off your bird if you think I'll let you," Spike told her.

"You're in no position to tell me what to do, Spike. Literally," she said looking down at him. "I'm gonna need a flashlight, a compass..."

"Uh Buffy," Dawn said. "I don't think it's such a good idea for you to be going alone."

"Dawn's right," Willow said. "What if you run into another one of those moose demons?"

"And w-we d-don't even know who's behind this. I think it'd b-be a l-lot safer if we stuck together," Tara suggested.

Buffy conceded. "Fine. Then we'll all go. We can't stay here. Get some stuff together. Jackets, flashlights, food, maybe a tent. Just we can carry," Buffy said. "We'll leave in an hour."

The gang got their stuff together and left. Xander had managed to construct a travois so they could carry Spike on. He was unwillingly to let them drag him along, but after a stern look from Buffy he climbed on without much grumbling. 

  


The Geek Trio watched the Scoobies leave. "Man, Andrew, nice work with the Al'ce demon," Warren complimented. 

Andrew blushed, "It was nothing."

"So," Jonathan said looking at the to boys. "What'll we do now?"

Warren smiled sinister-like, "I don't think Buffy and her friends should have too many problems on their hike."

"You don't?"

"No," Warren looked back into his binoculars, "But they're gonna get some anyway."

  


To Be Continued...

  


  


(I'm having the severest case of Writer's Block on this story. The writing gods seem to think that I should suffer for a little while. I'll try and post ASAP, but I'm not sure when. Thanks for all the reviews, I hope you haven't forgotten about me. It's okay if you do though.)

  


  


  



	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

(I got a little, actually a lot of, inspiration from the reviews you all have submitted. So thank you. Plus I just relieved my bladder, and I think that helped to free up some creative space. Oh, and don't worry, I won't inflict pain on myself. But you try to listening to "it's a small world" every day for five days and that fork starts to look real good.)

"What time is it?" Spike asked from under his heavy blanket.

Buffy glanced at her watch. "Ten to six. The sun should be setting soon. Just hold on."

"Easy for you to say. You're not danger of becoming charcoal bits," he muttered. She gave him a Look and he shut up. They had left before the sun set, and Spike had grumbled about that too. The rough terrain made it difficult for Buffy or Xander to drag Spike, so Xander fitted the spare tire, which strangely hadn't been slashed, and they were able to wheelbarrow Spike along. 

"Are we going the right way?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah," xander said. "We'll just take the road all the way back..." The gang stopped. In the middle of the road, blocking their path was a huge rock slide. 

"How did this happen?" Willow asked.

"What are we going to do?" Anya asked.

Spike peered out from under his blanket. "There aren't any mountainsides around here," he pointed out. 

Buffy looked around. "You're right."

"S-somebody d-doesn't want us getting help," Tara stuttered. 

"We'll have to go through the forest then," Xander said.

Buffy frowned. "Uh, maybe there's another way." She definitely didn't want to go through the woods. Especially with the demons animals running around. 

"Oh yeah. So what? You're gonna move all these rocks?" Spike asked rudely. "Sorry, love, you may be the slayer, but there's no way you could move boulders."

She spun around, hands on her hips. "You're one smart-ass remark away from losing that blanket, mister."

The vampire hugged his protection around him tightly. Xander grinned like an idiot. "What are you grinning at, wanker?"

"Nothing," Xander put his hands up. "Just a nice mental picture." Spike growled, but cowering under a blanket he knew he was far from menacing.

Buffy sighed. "Let's head down." 

They were able to hike a good five miles before Dawn started complaining of being tired. Xander chimed in with an "I'm hungry", and they stopped for the night. Tara and Willow gathered kindling for a fire Xander was unsuccessfully trying to produce. 

"How are you doing?" Tara asked Willow.

Willow half shrugged. "Okay. I guess. I mean I've never really been out in the woods like this before," she laughed. "The closest I've been to camping was out in Xander's backyard when we were kids. We used sheets to make a tent and told ghost stories."

Tara smiled. "I meant about earlier."

"Oh," Willow looked down. "The demon moose. Yeah, I'm okay about that too."

"I s-saw you. You were trying so hard not to use magic. Even to protect yourself and Anya," Tara told her softly.

"Yeah. I was real heroic," Willow said sarcastically.

Tara stopped walking. "You were. It takes strength to use magic. But it takes so much more to not. To battle your demons with virtue and hard work. It might not seem as glamorous, but it's what makes people love you." Willow smiled and blinked back tears. Tara looked away shyly and they continued back to camp. 

"Thank you." Willow said before they reached the rest of the gang. "It helps that someone notices."

"I always notice you." Willow looked at Tara, their eyes met bashfully. 

"So do I. And it's not that hard anymore. Everyday is a little better."

Tara pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "How so?"

"There was a time where I'd just wave my hand and a fire would appear."

"And now?"

Willow looked over at the camp. Xander and Spike were arguing about how to start the fire while Anya and Buffy looked on rolling their eyes. She smiled. "That's so much stronger," she said nodding in her friends direction.

  


"Jeez, Dawn. Did you bring anything that wasn't sugar loaded, dipped in chocolate and have less than 200 calories?" Buffy asked as Dawn pulled out two bags of junk food out of her pack.

"Hey, we're camping, we're sitting around a campfire. We need s'mores," Dawn pointed out.

Buffy considered this. "Hand me a stick." Dawn grinned and gave her sister a long, slender stick.

"Not to disrupt the junk food binge, but I'm feeling a might bit peckish and I'm afraid that I'm not much of a sweet tooth," Spike said. "Someone could rustle me up a squirrel or a bunny..."

"Bunny! Where?!" Anya looked around terrified and clutched Dawn who groaned.

"No bunnies," Buffy said quickly. "No animals. We don't know if they're demonic or not."

"Fine," Spike said and then cursed under his breath. "You bring me anything to eat, Nibblet?"

"Just one blood pack," she grimaced. "I didn't think we'd be camping out like this."

Spike forced a smile, "That's fine. Save it. I can wait." He shifted. Pain ran up and down his leg. He hoped that his vampire healing would kick in soon and that his bones wouldn't fuse together wrong. Damn cable TV. He's have to tell Buffy about Dawn's new obsession. 

"Here," Buffy handed him a s'more. He sneered at the gooey mess. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Just eat it."

"I told you I wasn't much for sweets," he said.

"Have you ever had one of these?"

"No."

"You've never had a s'more?!" Xander asked wildly. His mouth was full of graham cracker and marshmallow. He had a ring of melted chocolate around his mouth. "You're like a hundred and fifty years old. You really haven't lived."

"A hundred and forty-six, mate. Get it right. And what's the big deal about these things anyway, looks messy." He examined it.

"That's half the fun Spike," Dawn told him. "Messy, eating with your fingers."

"Then again, Willy Wannabite would rather chase his food," Xander said.

"Damn straight," Spike nodded. HE leaned over to Dawn. "I'll tell you the story of some _real_ finger food." Dawn shivered, excited.

"C'mon, Spike, just try it," Buffy said. He opened his mouth, seductively. She held back a glare and a smile and fed the sweet sandwich to him. He smirked and wiped the sticky marshmallow off his chin.

"Not bad," he commented.

They all sat around the fire, talking and laughing, telling ghost stories. Spike started a story, but had to stop because of Xander's weak stomach. Spike felt warm, he figured he was just too close to the fire. But then, he realized the feeling was coming from within. Slightly disturbed, he moved away, wincing in pain as he did so. He ended up moving closer to Buffy. 

"What wrong?" She asked him.

"What? Oh, nothing." He said. "Getting a little too close for comfort. Still flammable."

Buffy leaned back, rested her head on his shoulder and looked into the fire. He was surprised she was showing him affection in front of her Scoobies. "What are you doing?" He asked. She looked up at him and scoffed. "Sorry." She said getting up and retiring to the tent she had made up out of Spike's blanket. "Buffy!" He said hobbling over to the tent. "Ouch!" He exclaimed when he bent down to get into the tent. 

"You okay?" She asked.

"Great." 

"Damn."

Spike raised an eyebrow. Buffy hardly ever swore. She must be mad. "You cranky with me?"

Buffy shook her head. "I just don't get you, Spike."

"What? You mean my reluctance to snuggle with you in front of your friends? You were the one who made up the rules, love," he said.

"And what? You follow rules now?" She asked.

"I can't do this, Buffy. You can't be hot and cold like this and expect me to bend to what you want. It isn't fair," Spike told her.

"You're telling me what's fair now?" She asked. "Fair to who? Me? You? My friends? My sister? Should I just tell them about us right now?"

He shrugged. "If you want."

"Well I don't," she said crossing her arms over her chest. She looked at him. "Are you?"

He heaved. "Not if you don't want me to. Although for the record, if you don't, I will, but not now." 

"Thank you."

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes. He tried scooting up, but couldn't with out the blinding pain. 

"Here," she pulled him up next to her. "Better?" 

He nodded. "Yes." He brushed back her hair. "I want something sweet."

"I thought you didn't have a sweet tooth."

"Not that kind of sweet, pet," he purred into her ear. 

She closed her eyes as he kissed her behind the ear and ran his lips down her neck. "Your leg," she murmured.

"Don't need that for this," he murmured back. 

"Mmm, no," she stopped him. "Not here."

Spike exhaled. "Fine."

She kissed him passionately. Her tongue rolled against his with a promise. "Not yet." 

  


To Be Continued...

  


(Hopefully, this flow will continue. But I'm not getting my hopes up too much. Review and thank you.)


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